Text Size

The president’s proposal to put off mandatory spending cuts and push for more revenue through tax reform was the latest salvo in the never-ending fiscal battles, and Republicans have little appetite for any more revenue increases after the year-end tax-rate compromise. The across-the-board sequester cuts, which would reduce Pentagon spending by $487 billion over the next decade, were originally scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 2, but were delayed to March 1.

Obama insists that a new package of tax revenue and spending cuts is essential to the health of the economy, but this latest public relations offensive lacks the urgency of the New Year’s Eve fiscal cliff compromise — and congressional Republicans are no longer in a compromising mood on taxes.

House Speaker John Boehner slammed the plan before Obama even spoke, suggesting that new revenues should not be part of any deficit-reduction package, short-term or long-term.

“We believe there is a better way to reduce the deficit, but Americans do not support sacrificing real spending cuts for more tax hikes,” the Ohio Republican said in a statement.

Top Republicans in the House echoed Boehner’s sentiment after the president’s remarks Tuesday.

“Tax reform should be about making the code simpler and fairer for American families and helping employers create more jobs. The president’s proposal is nothing more than another tax hike to pay for more Washington spending,” House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) said in a statement. “That is not what America needs.”

Many Democrats have dug in against deeper spending cuts.

“Congress has already cut discretionary spending — defense and non-defense — to levels that jeopardize economic growth as well as services and investments critical to families and communities,” said New York Rep. Nita Lowey, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. “We must prevent a single-minded focus on spending cuts from further weakening a still fragile economy.”

Speaking from the White House Briefing Room, Obama called for a short-term delay of sequestration, scheduled to begin in March 1, that would include unspecified spending cuts and new revenues through tax reform while a longer-term deficit-reduction package was hammered out in Congress.

"There is no reason that the jobs of thousands of Americans who work in national security or education or clean energy, not to mention the growth of the entire economy, should be put in jeopardy because folks in Washington couldn't come together to eliminate a few special-interest tax loopholes or government programs that we agree need some reform," he said.